THE REGION
Bainbridge wins a battle on shoreline pollution front: There's good news and bad news for the health of Bainbridge Island's beaches. The state recently lifted a shellfish harvesting prohibition along a south island beach but tightened restrictions in two other areas where water testing shows increased levels of bacterial contamination. The Kitsap Sun's report

British Columbia regional park's future could be rooted in its agricultural past: A 600-plus acre regional park is getting back to its roots under a new Metro Vancouver plan that proposes a large-scale farm and teaching facility there. The idea is to make good on the park's land use plan, which envisioned gardeners, wildlife enthusiasts and recreational users all taking advantage of Colony Farm's acreage while also teaching a new generation of farmers the latest techniques for working the land. The Tri-City News' report

Washington state lands commissioner wants to branch out to wind, biomass energy: Lumber prices have fallen with the economic recession, but state lands commissioner Peter Goldmark said there is still plenty of economic value in state forests -- and much of it is untapped. Biomass growing on 2.1 million acres of state forests could be burned to generate electricity or converted to a liquid fuel called methanol, he said. Further, he endorsed the careful expansion of the state's burgeoning wind energy business to the west side of the Cascades -- provided the massive towers won't imperil wildlife. The Columbian's report

Review shows government rarely intervenes as California mercury mines pollute water, fish: Abandoned mercury mines throughout central California's rugged coastal mountains are polluting the state's major waterways, rendering fish unsafe to eat and risking the health of at least 100,000 impoverished people. But an Associated Press investigation found that the federal government has tried to clean up fewer than a dozen of the hundreds of mines -- and most cleanups have failed to stem the contamination. The Associated Press' report

THE NATION & WORLD
World's big polluters kick off climate talks in Washington: Representatives of the world's 17 biggest carbon polluters kicked off a week of high-stakes talks on climate change with a discussion at the U.S. State Department. The Environment News Service's report

U.S. battles for credibility on climate change: With Congress moving slowly on a measure to curb industrial greenhouse gas emissions, the United States may find itself with little sway at the coming international conference to construct a new pact aimed at easing global warming. The Associated Press' report